Addicted to smartphones

COLUMBUS, Ga. - When Adrian Weldon has a few minutes to spare, he's probably going to use them to text.

COLUMBUS, Ga. — When Adrian Weldon has a few minutes to spare, he’s probably going to use them to text.

“I came here to kill time, and text,” he said, sitting recently one afternoon at Lakebottom Park. “At least it’s not driving and texting.”

Weldon said he uses his phone mostly for texting, sending quick messages while he’s at work and can’t call people on the phone, and when he’s bored. If you ask him if he’s addicted, he says he’s not sure.

“My girlfriend says I am,” he said.

If Weldon is addicted to his phone, there are many more out there like him.

Addiction to apps or texting is not a recognized medical condition, but there have been numerous studies produced on whether the technology causes more harm than good.

A study by the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in Cleveland found that teens who spend a lot of time texting or on social media are also more like to use drugs or alcohol and get into fights.

Using a smartphone or computer just before bed can lead to sleep loss, according to a study from the National Sleep Foundation.

But ignoring your phone can be difficult.

In a recent New York Times article, brand consultant Martin Lindstorm contends that the top three most-powerful affecting sounds in the world are baby giggles, the Intel chime and a vibrating phone.

Weldon confesses to feeling lost without his phone. He never turns it off.

“I left it once and went home on my lunch break just to get it,” he said.

Smartphones also can be habit-forming, according to a study by the Helsinki Institute for Information Technology and Intel Labs. Researchers found that smartphone users in the U.S. and in Finland checked their phone repeatedly throughout the day, usually for less than 30 seconds.

They observed that the checks are usually triggered by the same things — a person might always check email while commuting or always check the news when bored.

“It’s a boredom buster,” said area resident Mary Virginia Wehrenberg, who added that apps and texting poses a great distraction when she’s stuck waiting for something.